World airfreight demand lacklustre, growth uncertain—AAPA

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Global air cargo demand in April slipped slightly for Asia-Pacific carriers, and the weak market trend is expected to continue, says the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).

AAPA traffic results show that international airfreight volume registered a 0.8 percent decline last month, down to 4,758 freight tonne kilometers from 4,797 FTK in April 2012.

Offered freight capacity last month expanded by 0.9 percent, resulting in a 1.1 percentage point fall in the average international cargo load factor to 65.2 percent.

In the first four months of the year, traffic slowed by 3.2 percent compared to the same period last year, sliding to 18,455 FTK from 19,066 FTK, AAPA said.

Describing the air cargo demand since January as “lacklustre,” Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general, said the outlook for the industry “remains clouded by uncertainty over the likely pace of any pickup in world trade flows.”

Photo: Alaskan Dude